Re: [GZG] Ixx Psychology & behaviour?

Germane only to the worldships idea, this reminds me of an idea I had
to have a fantasy setting where dwarves piloted gigantic icebergs. In
the case of a worldship, you'd have many of the same problems. Most
notably heat, of course. :)

On another front, when you start stacking population into a volume
instead of smearing them over a surface area, even with very generous
volumes per passenger you get to pretty ridiculous populations very
quickly. Cube vs square functions, after all.

Since these classifications are approximate already, it would be
interesting to see what attribtutes of crustaceans they might have (vs
insect characteristics). I *like* hive mind concepts, but it's kind of
cliche. Most insect races in SF are hive creatures, so a change would
be welcome. It would be ironic if their ecological niche (and
therefore psychology) was more similar to humans than more humanoid
races like the Kravak-- but convergent evolution certainly makes that
a possibility.

What kind of planet are they from? If it's an oxygen-rich, low-gravity
world, it might explain why invertebrates are so large and successful.
Of course, it could leave them weaker and more vulnerable compared to
humans. Aliens being uber in melee is another cliche (as the Brigadier
says, "Just once I'd like to meet an alien menace that is NOT immune
to bullets"), and it would be pleasing to see the Ixx perceive US as
being the bulletproof jugernauts for a change. All that chitinous
armor may or may not be useful against the predators of their own
homeworld, but it might be worse than useless against our weapons.

World-ships give you an opening to give the Ixx strength of numbers to
make up for their frailties, without having teeming hordes. Presumably
the ships have innumerable short-range support vessels. Lots of attack
craft and missiles, perhaps?

Consider also giving them some kind of weapon in SG/DS that ignores
armor (though I'm trying to imagine what practical weapon that would
be). Suddenly that non-PA force has the advantage for a change. Or
perhaps they focus on indirect fire weapons. Or both.

A race we *understand* doesn't mean we necessarily get along with them
better, but it's certainly an interesting change considering their
drastically alien appearance.

Anyway, just an idea. :)

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